Symbio Wildlife Park and Heathcote Trail

echidna!

Friday, August 20 we went to the Symbio Wildlife Park.  The afternoon commenced with a Lauren/Koala photo shoot, and then we got to feed some kangaroos.  We also saw an echidna, a Tasmanian devil, llamas, and red pandas.  However, the red panda visit was not quite as enjoyable as one may expect, because a friendly lorikeet decided my outfit was lacking and decided to share his lunch with my shirt.  After laughing at me for about 15 minutes, my friends decided to be helpful, and we all went to the gift shop where I got awesome shirt with sweet Australian animals on it.

snack time with the koalas. 

Heathcote Trail

On Saturday, August 21 I hiked the Heathcote trail with a bunch of friends.  The hike took a better part of the day, and was my first real encounter with bushwalking.  Where we all got pretty scratched up, it was still lots of fun.  There were a couple cool look out points along the way, and even some vesiculated basalts!

Fun fact:  Lorikeets suck. 

Mount Keira and Kiama Blowhole

top of Mount Keira

On Friday, August 13 (HAPPY COLGATE DAY!) a bunch of us hiked Mount Keira, which is walking distance from the uni.  It was slightly more strenuous thank I was expecting, but still a lot of fun!  At the top, we ran into a bunch of bridesmaids who were having a dance party in a random parking lot.  Obviously we joined in.  Not really sure what happened to the wedding, but at the time that information was secondary to the dance party.

Kiama blowhole action shot.

On Saturday, August 14 we had a local geology field trip to Bombo and the Kiama Blow Hole.  So many rocks!  I could totally nerd out right now and talk about the sassy twinned biotite, or the sweet breccia, but instead I think you’d all rather trust me that it was awesome.


fun fact:  There are actually two blowholes at Kiama, and we saw the larger one.  The first happened when a dyke eroded away, where the second happened when a chunk of columnar basalt collapsed.  Both of these processes left holes in the preexisting rock structure that water now gets forced through.  When the pressure is released the water is shot up, creating the blowhole.

BRISBANE

so many new friends

It is kind of hard to sum up all of the fun we had in Brisbane, a lot of it could only really be appreciated if you were there.  I went with Laura, Sheila, and Mark from August 5th to 8th.  This was our first legitimate traveling experience in Australia, and for some of us our first time staying at a hostel.  That alone was an experience.  Let’s just say that not everyone went to Red Pine Camp for girls, so public living etiquette was slightly lacking.  However, the trip was still wonderful, and here are some of the highlights:

Our first day, we went to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, where we saw many animals native to Australia as well as some other birds and such. Where the Sanctuary was slightly more like a zoo than we anticipated, it was still a fun stop, and my first time seeing some of Australia’s unique animals! 

From there, we took a brewery tour of the XXXX brewery, where I became best friends with our sassy tour guide (even though he wasn’t a very good tour guide). 

On Saturday, we had some X-TREME adventures in Moreton Island, the third largest sand island in the world.  We started the morning with a shipwreck snorkel.  After lunch, we went sand boarding, which is essentially sledding on sand dunes.  Overall, the day was a great success. 

me, Mark, Laura, and Sheila on the boat to Moreton Island

On Sunday, we took a walking tour of the city before heading back to Wollongong.  On the way we stopped at a local market, at lunch in a beautiful park, and I dropped my shoe in a fountain. 

sandboarding champion

Fun fact:  A kangaroo’s hop is actually an evolutionary advantage.  The spring in hopping helps kangaroos absorb and reuse energy, which helps them survive in some very nutrient poor environments.  

Super Sexy Seahorses

Katie, Nina, Me, Sheila

         This weekend (July 30-August 1) I finally made my transformation into a hot Australian surfer chick when I went on a pre-orientation trip to surf camp on 7 mile beach.  There were about 40 people total, and we were split up into a bunch of different groups. Our Colgate group was called the super sexy seahorses.  We had three lessons split up between two days.   It was fantastic. Even though we used massive foam boards instead of the typical smaller, thinner ones, Colgate overall shredded some sick waves.  I was slightly disappointed though, because the brochure told us we needed to bring our dancing shoes, and then we didn’t even need them.  It was quite the let down. 

Sheila, Katie, Me, Laura

Fun fact:  One of the biggest shark nets in the world blocks off 7 mile beach, preventing me from being eaten by sharks during surf camp.  Win.

Colgate!

Sydney Day Trip

Although mostly fun and games, we did have our first day trip to Sydney on Saturday, July 24^th.  We started out at the Natural History Museum, followed up with the Botanical Gardens, and ended at the Opera House.  Most of the trip was educationally focused, giving us the opportunity to identify plants, animals, and rocks that will become second nature to us by the time we leave Australia.  However, it was a great chance to see Sydney for the first time, and allowed us to spend a lot of time as a full group. 

Sheila and I made friends with a diprotodon

cockatoos!

Unlike the ugly pigeons and crows that roam the streets in the US, you can see some of the coolest birds on the streets of Australia.  Even just outside my dorm, you can see tons of parrots, magpies, and this one bird that sounds like a crying baby (thanks world…).  While at the Botanical Gardens, we got very close and personal with a group of cockatoos, and a little too close and personal to some fruit bats. 

Botanical Gardens

On the way home, a bunch of us sat next to some very nice Australians on the train, who told us a bit about Wollongong but asked even more questions about America.  I think they mostly just appreciated that not all Americans are obsessed with Justin Timberlake.  Overall, the trip was a great start to the semester. 

Fun fact:  Australians don’t actually say shrimp on the Barbie.  They call shrimp prawns, so it's unclear where that saying actually came from.  

The Beginning

Once upon a time a girl named Lauren got accepted to study abroad for the semester at the University of Wollongong in New South Wales with 16 of her most esteemed tree hugging friends.  Just minutes from the beach, these friends quickly grew fond of the laid back yet exciting nature of the Australians, while keeping up with the “rigorous” orientation schedule (if only the girls had been warned sooner to pack more dresses…).   During the first few days, these students could be found in the reject store, walking on the beach, or checking out Kenny's pokemon, and most likely with some nutella and toast in hand.  After such a wonderful week, the students could not be more excited to explore, travel, and most importantly geologize for the next semester in SASSTRALIA.  Enjoy the adventures!  

The Colgaters in front of Sydney's Opera House

Fun fact:  Kangaroos and Emus are included in the Australian Coat of Arms because they cannot walk backwards, and therefore are representative of Australia moving forward as a country.